


This is Not Your Year

by the_queercat



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) - Freeform, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gavin is a Mess, Gavin is a bottom it's basically canon, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know what I'm doing w this thing I just wanted to write about my faves, M/M, Memes, Mental Health Issues, Mutual Pining, Post Pacifist Ending, Post-Game, Post-Game(s), Swearing, gavin has 5 cats in this one, gavin has a breakdown, gavin reed is gay, have you seen him standing at that table in the break room all caked up and shit?, he loves riding dick and that's just the tea, i haven't written in a hot minute and i never know how it is, i'll add more tags as is appropriate, nb OC, not enemies but like not friendly idk, rating will probably change bc I'm def planning on that good smut, rk900 is also a mess, soooooo much swearing, we gay in this bitch tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-06-22 16:16:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15585780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_queercat/pseuds/the_queercat
Summary: Gavin's relationship, and his life in general, is going to shit real fast. David is just getting a grasp on deviancy and his "brother" is pretty much all he's got. Partners by assignment, whatever-the-fuck-their-relationship-is by choice.RK900's name is David in this. Not because of D*vid C*ge. I was brainstorming ideas for names for him and I just liked David. Brandon and Alex were other options. Feel free to use those if you're writing your own fic with RK900 in it. Just please, for the love of fuck, stop naming him Conan.





	1. 5 Cats in a Trench Coat = 1 Boyfriend (Right?)

**Author's Note:**

> After about a million changes, I settled on this title from the song "Not Your Year" by The Weepies.
> 
> *Updates will come out when/if possible. In the words of our fave grumpy dad, "I arrive when I arrive,".*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RK900: What are you doing, detective?  
> Gavin: *in tears* my best, you fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all I'm a fool and I didn't realize that the end of this fic was missing. Don't mcfreakin judge me but it was because I tried putting the B emoji in David's contact name. The end is there now though, or at least it should be...
> 
> Betas are maxlmcff and noveltywaffleironcollector on tumblr.

Waking up to nearly suffocating on a cat amidst a period of great emotional turmoil definitely isn’t the optimal situation, but it’s the one Gavin was faced with this morning. He hoisted Shane off of his head, disregarding the haughty wails of protest, and plopped him on the bedside table. His clock read 06:43. All good, he wasn’t expected to be at the precinct until 8. After briefly debating wrapping himself back up in his three fleece blankets—it was winter and he naturally ran cold, sue him—Gavin pushed himself out of bed with a huff and made the 14 step trek to the bathroom. January had not been kind to his heating bill. Every morning began with peeing and brushing his teeth followed by washing his face and putting on some product his cousin got had got him for Christmas.

 

“It’s a moisturizer with SPF in it. Trust me, as little as I see you, I know you totally need this,” they had said. “Like, sure, you’re a decent looking dude, but everyone could always use a little help, ya know?”

 

When he had received it, Gavin was almost offended. The initial resistance to such a nonthreatening concept as selfcare faded away when he realized that he really did need it. What? It wasn’t his fault he was socialized that way. Thankfully, men finally learning to take care of themselves was the least of the world’s concern nowadays what with the android uprising and Florida becoming Atlantis. Moving on, he made a mental note to text his cousin later so he could actually thank them. Sammy had always looked out for him, and that was more than he could say for his boyfriend. Jay was being a real dick right now.

 

Ghosting him, asking him for cash, always hanging around his shady buddies from the bar but never actually telling Gavin anything until he came home around 1 or 2 in the morning. It seemed that he had time for all the things in the world except his own damn boyfriend. Oh well, at least he had his little horde of cats for companionship. The size of his feline family was never intended to exceed two or three. That said,  if you knew him, which very few did, you’d know Gavin was powerless to say no to a darling stray caught in the rain and boy did it rain _a lot_ in Detroit. That is how Gavin came to be the father of five cats.

 

Gavin was shaken from his train of thought when his phone abruptly began to vibrate. He turned it over to see Sammy’s name along with their faces cheesing at the camera. He smiled weakly at the photo and pressed accept.

 

“Hey there cuz, what it do?” they greeted all to cheerfully for this time of day.

 

“Oh you know. In agony, as usual,” Gavin deadpanned.

 

“Well I wish you weren’t,” Sammy sighed, their tone becoming a bit more serious, “Look, Gavin, I know you don’t like other people getting all up in your business, but you know me. Talk to me. You’re never posting anything anymore, not even the cats in dumb poses. I haven’t heard from you since Christmas, and that was just to see if you got my gift. Like, I know you just forget sometimes, but this feels different.”

 

“It’s fine, I’m just goin’ through some shit. ‘S no big deal,” Gavin deflected, you know, like a liar.

Sammy exhaled deeply, knowing they weren’t going to get anywhere meaningful with this conversation, “Look, man. Just take care of yourself. Never feel like you don’t have anyone in your corner, because you always, always got me. No matter what.”

 

“Alright, alright this got sappy way too fast and I need to go in the next 20 minutes or I’m gonna be late. Haven’t even eaten yet, Jesus Christ. Okay, thanks for the pep talk buddy, I’ll talk to you later,” Gavin mumbled, voice still very much laden with sleep.

 

Sammy paused for a while, a defeated sigh escaping them before saying their goodbye, “Okay, then. Love you, Gavin.”

 

“Yeah, you too, Sammy,” Gavin mumbled.

 

Gavin hit end call and rested the phone on the counter. With roughly 15 minutes left to eat, it was looking like oatmeal was the only option this morning. He chuckled to himself. To this day, oatmeal still made him think of a stupid series of videos about these pigs on an ongoing quest for oats, even going so far as to ask the mighty frog named Kek to bestow oats upon them. He shook his head, his chuckle escalating to full on laughter, scolding himself for still finding that shitpost relic funny. The man then continued to shove oats in his mouth as he tried to think about that stupid fucking video, and not about his current relationship’s impending doom. That could wait until after work. Probably. His mental rambling was interrupted by his phone buzzing yet again; this time, only twice.

 **NagBot900:** _I trust you’re on your way at the moment, yes?_

**Detective Re** **ed:** _Yeah yeah I’m comin dipshit_

Gavin rolled his eyes and shoved his bowl and spoon in the dishwasher before tearing his pleather jacket off the hook by the door. He pocketed his keys with far more force than was necessary, resenting the fact that a goddamn robot could simulate concern for him better than his _literal boyfriend_ ever could. Yikes.

He slid into his usual parking spot and strode through the doors of the precinct not a minute late. He spotted his least favorite job thief already sat at the desk across from his. Like Lieutenant Drank Anderson had been nearly a year ago, Gavin now had his very own pretentious, hunk of metal and blue Kool-Aid that followed him around “like a poodle”, as the lieutenant had put it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin is an angery man with angery hands.


	2. New Objective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry it took me all week to realize the last chunk of chapter 1 didn't get posted. I am a fool. Enjoy the supposedly cool and collected David lowkey freaking out like a teenager who just wants to know how to friend. 
> 
> No beta on this chapter we die like dumbasses here.

“No no no no no  _ NOOOOO! _ ” Gavin bellowed at his terminal which had decided to freeze on him just as he had been finishing up a report. He had  _ just  _ wrapped up an investigation; another android hate crime. A lot of those had been coming through the precinct as of late. By and large, the revolution had been a positive turning point in the lives of androids, but no revolution ever came about without opposition.

 

“Are you fucking  _ kidding  _ me?” Gavin steamed, almost quite literally depending on who you asked.

 

“Detective, is everything alright?” a familiar voice asked tentatively.

 

“Fuck outta my way, asshole. I don’t have the goddamn time for your stupid ass pleasantries, or whatever the hell that shit is filed under in that oh-so-great supercomputer you have up there,” Gavin snapped, pushing his finger against the android’s forehead disdainfully.

 

“For your information, _detective_ , I’m worth quite a bit more than the small fortune my predecessor was. I don’t imagine you or your bank account would be terribly pleased if you were to damage me, not that you’d be able to do a whole lot of harm,” David jabbed, his words biting, “ And I’ll thank you in advance for addressing me by the name I’ve chosen for myself.”

 

“And what was that again?” Gavin sneered, “I don’t seem to recall seeing as I don’t give a shit.”

 

“David. It’s David,  _ Detective Reed _ ,” the android declared firmly.

 

“Whatever, Mr. Roboto,” the man grumbled as he shuffled toward the break room for his 3rd cup of coffee.

 

David mentally paged Connor. He liked to think that adapting to human unpredictability was one of his features, but he only ever really understood how to simulate a proper response to emotion. Managing emotion was a whole new game. He imagined this is what an adolescent might feel when experiencing new emotion.

 

_ “Hello, Connor,” _ the android greeted, reverting to his CyberLife-issued tone of formality.

 

_ “Hello there, David. What’s up? Need anything?” _ Connor greeted back. His predecessor wore deviancy well; he could almost be mistaken for human. He still held on to his LED though, a reminder of an integral part of his identity rather than a reminder of the machine he was once expected to be.

 

_ “Yes, I suppose, though I don’t know how you could help me at the moment. As we’re all well aware,  a snappy attitude is nothing short of typical for Detective Reed, but there’s something else to his tone today. I just can’t quite put my finger on it. There may be something occuring in his personal life; I’ll have to look into that. Anyway, whatever’s distracting him could prove to be a hindrance to his performance and thus make it more difficult for me to accomplish my tasks as his partner,” _ David stated as though he were briefing his predecessor on a new case.

 

_ “Are you asking me for help regarding how to deal with the situation?” _

 

_ “I’m not sure what I’m asking of you, to be frank. I simply wish for the detective's personal issues to resolve as soon as possible so we can continue to work at optimal efficiency.” _

 

_ “Oh, come on. That can’t be it. As much of a pain as he is, you must care for Reed on a personal level to some extent, right? I know I did after working with the Lieutenant for a little while.” _

 

David paused momentarily before resuming the conversation,  _ “I can’t say I’ve given our personal relationship much thought. Detective Reed is rather impersonal and I’m more or less a blank canvas. Sure, you woke me up the second I was activated, but I haven’t developed a true sense of self as a human would. We only look like we’re in our late 20’s, Connor,”  _ David let out a hollow chuckle. 

 

Connor’s LED began spinning rapidly on yellow before slowing to its normal pace again,  _ “It may be a challenge, but I do think you could benefit from getting to know Reed personally,” _ he suggested. David almost physically winced at the proposal, letting only a minute, skeptical expression cross his face. Such a thing would indeed be a challenge, and one that he wasn’t sure he was up for. Connor continued,  _ “It might seem like a daunting task, but I believe in you. You were created with the sole purpose of rectifying any flaws found in my model; I was created with deviancy already implanted, mind you. You are more than capable of getting past a hostile professional relationship, I assure you. Look at Hank and I,”  _ he pointed out.

 

Connor was right. David sighed needlessly, its only purpose being to express exhaustion, and nodded in acceptance. His predecessor nodded back with a lopsided smile and returned to work. David hated deviancy sometimes. He wasn’t unwaveringly confident like he would’ve been had he remained a machine, so to speak. Now he had doubts; doubts about the capabilities that he was  _ programmed  _ with. It was frustrating. Maybe getting to know Gavin wouldn’t be so bad, though. At the very least, his curiosity had been piqued after noticing an almost unnoticeable puncture in the detective’s ear cartilage. Maybe the detective had a bit of an “edgy” phase, as some might call it, in his youth. 

 

“What the hell are you thinkin’ so hard about there, RoboCop? Your mood ring was going nuts,” Gavin observed. He returned from the break room with roughly two thirds of a cup of coffee, already having drank some of it while making small talk with whoever could stand him at the moment. 

 

“Oh nothing, Detective. Just chatting with Connor,” the android replied curtly, hoping he wouldn’t pry too much. He could foresee the man possibly getting offended if he knew of his plan to befriend the prickly detective with ulterior motive in mind. The intentions weren’t totally disingenuous either. After entertaining the idea, getting to know Gavin and possibly even becoming friends seemed like it could be rewarding. Humans are social creatures, after all. Maybe deviants would turn out to be as well. 

 

“Oh yeah? What were a couple of plastic pricks like you gossiping about? Upgrading from being a damn Ken doll? Replacing everybody in this precinct by 2048?” Gavin jeered rhetorically. 

 

The android pursed his lips together, gathering ever ounce of patience he could muster to not lay him out flat, as his predecessor had in the evidence locker a while back, before deciding to answer somewhat truthfully, “We discussed social interaction; making friends, building relationships, things of that na — ”

 

“Shut your trap, dipshit. I wasn’t actually askin’. Jesus, you goddamn machines take everything so literal. I don’t think Anderson’s little plastic pet got a decent handle on sarcasm until about when that stupid prick dragged you in here like a fuckin’ stray mutt. Though I gotta say,” Gavin mumbled, going a mental tangent, “you’re more of a damn cat than that poodle-ass prick. Always being a sassy fuck and doing whatever you damn well please.” 

 

David glared straight at Gavin with all the intensity he could muster, which was quite a bit with those icy grey eyes. If you squinted, you could see Gavin shrinking back ever so slightly from the android’s calculating gaze. He now understood why they swapped out Connor’s coffee-colored puppy eyes. David’s eyes could tear a new one into your damn soul if they wanted to. It was almost scary even. Gavin tapped out of their little staring contest, spitting out a “phck” under his breath as he swiveled back toward his terminal in silent defeat.

 

David turned away without another word, satisfied with his unspoken victory against the detective in whatever that little pissing match was. For just a moment, he let his mind wander as he was much in need of a mental breather. He thought back to when he and Connor interfaced so that he could witness the experience of the evidence locker altercation firsthand. It brought him amusement and calmed him down a bit even. The incident was hilarious in retrospect now that Connor no longer had the detective pointing a gun at his head, and watching that memory was also the first time David had ever genuinely laughed out loud. Not a conservative, dry little chuckle, but genuine laughter that would’ve made his abdomen hurt had he been human. David hung on to this when he was feeling alone. Connor knew of this loneliness amd had offered multiple times for him to stay at Hank’s, but he felt as though it’d be intrusive and he worried about overstaying his welcome. Anyhow, he had a small apartment that he had just purchased for himself. It would likely suffice until he was either destroyed in the line of duty or simply shut down after a gradual decline in function over time. How depressing, especially if he were to ride out that existence alone. Perhaps a companion for at least some of that time wouldn’t be so bad. 

 

A new objective appeared in David’s vision.

 

**Befriend Detective Gavin Reed**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @David don't front like you only care about the mission. You've seen the way Gavin pops his ass out when he's chilling in the break room. Boy slim thicc. Skinny legend got me quakin.


	3. I'm Like A Lawyer (Me & You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin lowkey has a breakdown in the break room (aptly named now, I guess). Tina is a pal and listens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did the cheesy bullshit I have a love hate relationship with where song lyrics are incorporated in the fic. I think I did it okay. Sometimes it's forced and weird and I hate it so hopefully I'm not the thing I hate here.

Gavin stomped over to the break room toward his idle coworker. He had already begun his string of complaints, complete with colorful language sprinkled all throughout. It was nearly the end of the day and he had earned this ranting session.

 

“Chen, I swear to Christ, I’m gonna deck that artificial fuck in the face. I really don’t fuckin’ need this goddamn bullshit on top of phuckin’ Jay who, as you’re well aware of, is a god awful sonofabitch and a pain in my ass —and that’s mostly figuratively right now, that flaky cunt—I’m so goddamn motherfuckin’ pissed I  could —,”

 

“Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah there, drama queen. Back it  _ all  _ the way up. I know our whole thing is ranting to each other, getting it all out but  _ damn  _ son you are  _ really  _ in your feelings today. What the hell happened?” Tina asked, blindsided by the instant barrage of complaints from her coworker.

 

“That plastic fuckin’ prick happened! I’m already putting up with a good-for-nothing boyfriend, if you can even call him that at this point. That fucker comes around like once a damn week to screw then he’s gone. He never goddamn tells me where he’s going and it just pisses me off! And now, I have a robo-asshole as a partner. I never wanted that thing. I never wanted any damn partner. I just wanna do my damn job in solitude,” Gavin stated. He took a couple deep breaths to catch himself.

 

“Okay there’s a lot to unpack here, but let’s start with this and get it over with. Part of the job is having a partner sometimes, Reed. I’m not sugarcoating anything and you know how people feel; you’re a damn ass to anything that breathes,” her eyes flicker over to David and Connor for a moment, “and even things that don’t breath. But you have to let it go sometimes. You’re stuck with David for the foreseeable future. Why make this harder for yourself? Come on, you know I’m no android’s number one fan, but Jesus, dude, get a grip. You don’t have to be besties, you barely even have to be friends. But you’re gonna be even more of a miserable fuck if you keep going out of your way to shit on someone who’s done absolute diddly shit to you.”

“God, you know nothing's worse than when you’re right,” Gavin sighed, “I just— _ phck _ —I hate all these fucking androids and Jay’s stressing me the hell out and,” his voice went down to almost a whisper, “I just need  _ somebody  _ right now, Chen. And I’m not askin’ that to be you—”

 

“Good, ‘cause it ain’t gonna be me,” Tina interjected.

 

“As I was saying, it by no means has to be you. I’m just so fuckin’ alone right now, you know?” Gavin asked in a hushed tone. He had only gotten close to breaking down at work a handful of times, and this was definitely one them. He wasn’t proud of spilling his guts to a coworker with whom his relationship consisted mainly of surface level rants about whatever was bothering them. Not in-depth, full-on therapy sessions. That was usually what Sammy was for.

 

David’s LED anxiously spun yellow as he eavesdropped on Gavin and Tina’s little talk. Flecks of red made their way into the rotation at the very end as Gavin confessed his desire for companionship. Something about the way he said it, “I’m just so fuckin’ alone right now, you know?” It triggered a sensation in his system which could only be described as a pang in his figurative gut. In his case, that would be a jumble of wires stuffed into his torso. Nevertheless, it was not a pleasant feeling. Not just to hear of the detective’s situation, but to relate to him. To relate to that feeling of wanting, needing someone to be there. ‘What a human thing to feel’ David thought, his mouth forming an empty almost-smile. 

 

“Fuck it, I’m sorry, Chen. I just—whatever. This isn’t your shit to deal with and it was shitty of me to unload this on you like fuckin’ truck,” Gavin apologized, moving his focus down to his coffee cup as if it were the most interesting cup of coffee in the world right now.

 

Tina sighed, “You know what? I get it. When you bottle everything up, it all just comes out when you didn’t ask it to. I’ve been there. Just take care of yourself, Gavin.”

 

“Yeah. Thanks, Tina,” Gavin murmured before trudging back to his desk. He tossed the part full coffee in the trash.

 

“Oh yeah, and Reed?” Tina called after him. 

 

Gavin spun around.

 

“You rope me into another therapy session like this, it ain’t gonna be free, got it?” she teased.

 

Gavin chuckled halfheartedly, “in your dreams, Chen!”

 

David watched Gavin return to his desk and shut down his terminal in his peripheral. Though he still seemed plenty troubled, it did seem as though a small weight had been lifted off the man’s chest. He silently thanked, knowing his pride would keep him from ever saying anything out loud.

 

Gavin gathered his jacket from the back of his chair and began to head out. Before he made it to far, a little thought popped up in his head seemingly out of nowhere. Where does the tin can sleep? Does the thing even sleep? Because it was right there and for no other reason, of course, the man said “phuck it” and turned around to face the android.

 

“Hey, tin can. Where the hell do you even sleep? You just sit that damn chair all night or what?” he asked. His words had no bite to them, though. Just pure curiosity with a hostile front to uphold.

 

“I purchased myself an apartment about 15 minutes from the precinct. I go into stasis mode there, which I would assume is what you would consider “sleep” for an android,” David answered.

 

Gavin nodded, and quickly turned back around to leave before it could say anything else. The concept was unusual for him, to think of an android owning its own apartment. But so would the concept of it just sitting at its desk all night with its eyes wide open. Okay, that was the way weirder option, now that he thought about it. He made his way out to the car and slid into the driver’s seat. Once buckled, he started up the car and cranked some angsty fossils from his rebellious punk rock phase (and if he was being honest with the terminology, it was totally an emo phase). With absolutely 0 onlookers present to judge him, Gavin belted atrociously along to his favorite bangers from high school. A little “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” here, a little “Self Esteem” there. God, he’d forgotten how good it felt to genuinely not give a fuck. 

 

This wasn’t the façade he put on at work where he pretended not to care. At work, he just cared about doing everything in his power he could to do his job the best he could. His ambition and his hotheadedness manifested the character his peers knew as Detective Reed: resident dickhead. He firmly believed that getting chummy with his colleagues served no real purpose and thus was nothing more than a distraction. He also thought he performed best without a partner. You can see the theme here.

 

Gavin continued to sing to himself as he swung open the front door to five pairs of eyes snapping toward him reflecting light his way. Larry descended from one of the stools lined up at the little breakfast nook while Lana hopped off a shelf, sticking the landing with a soft thud. The two rushed to join in greeting the man at the door. He knew he could count on his two favorite little attention whores to greet him when he came home.

 

“Glad to see at least some of you love me, you little shits,” Gavin grumbled, feigning offense.

 

Shane and Mac stayed put on the sofa and the Lay-Z-Boy, respectively, while Ninja was M.I.A. as usual. She was probably lurking underneath his bed awaiting an opportunity to ambush his ankles. Gavin hung his coat on the hook beside the door and dumped his keys on the coffee table. Despite having  ~~ sung ~~ caterwalled all the way home, he was still craving more angst. So stewing in his shitty mood may not be the healthiest thing, but sue him, he was enjoying himself.

 

“Speaker on.”

 

_ Beep-beep _

 

“Sync to phone.”

 

_ Beep _

 

“Play.”

 

_ Last year’s wishes _

 

_ Are this year’s apologies, _

 

_ Every last time I come home _

 

Gavin winced at the lyrics. He loved the song, but God it was too real right now. Here he was just trying to reminisce in his cringey emo past and jam out, and Fall Out Boy had the audacity to personally attack him in his own home. Rude. He kept it on, though. What could he say, the song was a banger and its appropriateness for the situation was kind of cathartic in a way. 

 

_ We’re the new face of failure, _

 

_ Pretty and younger, but not any better off, _

 

_ Bulletproof loneliness at best _

 

_ At best _

 

He gradually allowed himself to let go more and more as the song continued. Head bobbing was soon joined by finger drums. Nearing the end of the song he was dancing like a total idiot, shuffling from foot to foot, playing air guitar, even headbanging a little. Just a little though, he couldn’t go to town like he used to without almost passing out. 

 

_ The best way to make it through _

 

_ With hearts and wrists intact _

 

_ Is to realize two out of three ain't bad _

 

_ Ain't bad _

 

As the song came to an end, Gavin did his best to catch his breath. It had been way too long since he had let go and enjoyed himself like that. Unfortunately, he had only further exhausted himself and it was only 21:47. A cold beer and some leftover pizza were sounding like a good idea right now. That and a little mindless TV and curling up with his cats. Sure he had shitty boyfriend and a stupid plastic prick for a partner, but did any of that really matter when he was surrounded by his furry family? I think not.

 

For absolutely no reason whatsoever Gavin’s mind wandered to said plastic prick. He briefly made an attempt at shoving the thought away because why the hell would he think about how ~~pretty~~ goofy-looking the robot was. Loneliness, he supposed. He allowed the mental thread to continue. Well, the thing was assigned to him, it was paid to work there, money can be exchanged for goods and services. What the hell would an android even buy? Another set of clothes for a shell that doesn’t sweat, produce waste, all the nasty human functions? Thirium? Did the things have to buy the one thing they needed to live? He figured so seeing as humans had to pay for food and water, why would androids be exempt from paying for basic necessities? That was the world they lived in. 

 

Gavin’s train of thought meandered further, eventually landing on thinking about how his partner slept. Does it stand or lay down? As androids, to the best of his knowledge, didn’t feel pain, then he doubted there was much need for the bed to be comfortable. That is, unless there was a human significant other in its life. It would suck to hook up with some tin can only to end up banging on a goddamn brick of a bed. Wait, can androids even hook up? Do they have the, er, equipment? What would they fe—

 

Gavin’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a yelp followed by sputtering and coughing as he regained his bearings. Lana, the little princess that she was, had jumped off the back of the couch and decided his stomach was the perfect cushion to land on, which is was. In the end, it was probably the right move. Gavin’s mind had started to breach some upon some forbidden and, quite frankly, confusing territory. What possessed him to think about androids with more than passing distaste, he had no idea. Especially, that ~~perfect~~ stupid piece of plastic with its ~~lowkey kinda hot~~ stupid face. It was the loneliness, it was whatever pent up shit he had going on; nothing more, nothing less. Or at least that’s what he told himself. 

 

Using what little energy he had left, Gavin peel himself off the couch and trudged over to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He weakly thrust his body onto the bed—this momentarily startled the absolute unit that was Mac—and curled up in his mountain of blankets. Cats and blankets were truly all one really needed in life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so there's no way around it, this chapter is Very Cringey and you're gonna deal with it. Also you're lying if you say you've never had an angsty throwback jam session with yourself.


	4. Ninja

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Person A's pet gets lost and ends up with Person B" trope you say? Yeah, that's exactly what this is. But literally everyone's a sucker for it so here y'all go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I've been busy all fucking week and I'm tired as shit but I had to do it to em so enjoy this jumbled brain vom I pumped out to stick to my update schedule. If you couldn't tell, no beta was utilized in the production of this chapter.

**MODEL RK900**

**SERIAL#: 313 248 317 87**

**BIOS 8.3 REVISION 1856**

**REBOOT...**

 

**FULL STASIS**

 

**LOADING OS...**

**SYSTEM INITIALIZATION...**

**CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS…** **OK**

 **INITIALIZING BIOSENSORS…** **OK**

 **INITIALIZING AI ENGINE…** **OK**

 

 **MEMORY STATUS…** **OK**

 **ALL SYSTEMS** **OK**

 

**READY**

 

Before anything else, David noticed a source of warmth against his chest. It was the cat he had found wailing in an overturned cardboard box by his apartment building. He knew there were rules against pets but the poor thing would probably freeze to death. Besides, it was cute. Its form was lithe, rather small, possibly the runt of the litter, and black with soft patches of white littering the nose and paws. The little creature had sprawled out across the android’s chest while in stasis. It sounded like a motor. It was then that David felt another sort of warmth. This time, it wasn’t physical. Is this what humans meant when they described their heart feeling different sorts of ways? Light, heavy, warm, cold, hard, soft; all of those, words which humans had said their hearts could feel like. Now, humans and deviants. The expression never made sense to him until this very moment. Maybe this was why Connor like Sumo so much, and dogs in general, for that matter. The feeling was peculiar, but not unwelcome. He had gotten so wrapped up in the much smaller being on his chest that it took a while for him to get around to the elephant in the room: he didn’t own a cat, so whose cat was this? 

 

The first logical step was to look for a collar and hope there was a tag attached. He felt around the cat’s neck with feather-like strokes. No such luck. The next move was gentle, full body pets in hopes detecting a microchip. Success.

 

**NINJA**

**Born: 07/23/2038 // Domestic Shorthair Cat**

**Owner: Gavin Reed**

 

Now that was a surprise. Not that Gavin had a cat, but that this particular one was his. Small world.

 

“Well, little one, I suppose I ought to notify your dad then, hm? You may be the only thing keeping him together,” David quipped.

 

“Mrrrow,” the cat seemed to agree.

 

**NagBot900:** _ Good morning, Detective Reed.  _

 

**Detective Reed:** _ The hell u want asshole, I just woke up _

 

**NagBot900:** _ Oh nothing terribly important, I just thought you’d be pleased to know that your cat found her way to me. _

 

**Detective Reed:** _ Wth???? How did that little fucker get out??!! Ugh ok I’ll come get her before work. _

 

**NagBot900:** _ Alright, I’ll see you soon then. Will you be needing my address? _

 

**Detective Reed:** _ Uh yeah asshole I don’t just know where u live. Not a damn stalker _

 

**NagBot900:** _ You just had to say “yes”, Detective.  I live in Room 1408 in the Jeffersonian Houze apartment complex.  _

 

**Detective Reed:** _ Bougie bitch. And since when do u live that close to me? _

 

**NagBot900:** _ If you’ll recall, we both work at the Detroit Police Department. It’s not unfathomable to imagine we’d turn out to live near each other.  _

 

**Detective Reed:** _ Ok smartass u can fuck off now. Be there in 10 _

 

“Okay, little one, I need to get up now,” the android informed as he gingerly nudged the creature off. 

 

Ninja emitted a soft mew as she rose and yawned lazily. She stepped off the android’s chest and resumed slumbering where he had been laying previously. David enjoyed the pure tranquility and gentleness of the sight. The cat just looked so at peace and…

 

“You’re so cute,” David mumbled absentmindedly. This caught him off guard. Who knew the most advanced prototype CyberLife had ever created had the capacity to be absentminded? He tried to rationalize to himself that any tasks running in the background could be considered his subconscious, but this felt different. The wonders of deviancy, he supposed. 

 

Before Gavin could even knock on the door, Ninja made a beeline for the door while yowling incessantly. Unable to stop herself in time, she skid across the dark hardwood, slamming into the door. The sheer lack of grace of it all made the deviant giggle as he followed his new feline friend. Wait, giggle? That didn’t sound right. Oh well. He opened the door to be greeted by a A very groggy, slightly worried Gavin. He pushed past David swiftly so as not to let the cat espace him again.

 

“Come here you little shit,” the man crooned. David made a note of him using insults as terms of endearment in addition to their intended purpose. As Ninja trotted up to her human, some of the tension left Gavin’s shoulders. It’s not like exploring was unusual for the little monster, but it was nearly the end of January and he figured it wasn’t ideal exploring weather. He figured wrong.

 

“So how in the fuck did she get to your place?”

 

“I found her last night on my way home. She was inside a box that seemed to have flipped over onto her. She meowed very loudly, almost like she was crying,” David’s expression dropped as he remembered how pathetic she’d been out in the cold, “I just couldn’t leave her, so I snuck her in underneath my jacket.”

 

“Jesus Christ, buddy, what were you thinkin’, huh? You’re lucky tin man over here took pity on you. Woulda frozen your ass off out there, phckin' dummy,” Gavin chuckled softly, seemingly almost forgetting the android’s presence. Anxiety and relief simultaneously were laced into his words. Something about the little fuzzballs—and the big fuzzballs for that matter—just zen'd him out. After a couple more minutes of scritches, he turned to acknowledge his partner, “Uh, thanks, I guess. Ninja probably wouldn’t’ve made it if you didn’t come along,” he apologized reluctantly.”

 

“Of course. As I said, I couldn’t leave her. I can see why you like her so much. She’s,” David paused, trying to find the word to describe her, “sweet. Very sweet,” the android trailed off into a murmur.

 

Gavin was slightly taken aback. He knew the android was a deviant, but he had never really seen it express much interest or emotional investment in anything. THough it returned his, now, overused and underwhelming jabs once in a while, it had never done much past friendly greetings and whatever the hell that thing and its big brother(?) talked about in their little mental side conversations.

 

“Uh, yeah,” Gavin mumbled, unnecessarily clearing his throat before continuing, “anyway, I gotta get going. Need to get this little shit home before work.”

 

“Of course,” David nodded. What had the detective a little flustered, he had no idea.

 

Gavin made his exit with his little escape artist while David was still lost in his head. The android couldn’t understand what he did to produce the reaction he did, but he kind of wanted to see it again. There was something indescribable about it. What had he done? All he could think of was when he called Ninja “sweet”. What had been so shocking? He was a deviant now, endowed with the vast spectrum of human emotion that came with it. Figuring he was overanalyzing by now, a habit by design, he shook off that train of thought. He had work soon and he’d have to book it if he was to be there on time—which, of course, he was. 

 

Gavin sped home a little bit too unsafe of a fashion given the road conditions, but he couldn’t be bothered when he had a fur baby to get home and then his job to get to. He may have been a jackass, but at least he was a punctual jackass, dammit. Upon arrival, Gavin killed the gas, scooped up Ninja into his jacket, carried her inside, and left as quickly as he came. He’d be 5 minutes late at the most, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t kicking himself for lingering at the stupid android’s place for as long as he did. Why the hell hadn’t he ditched ASAP once he got his hands on the cat anyhow? That stupid pile of junk had nothing to offer him except grief and sass, the fucker. The weirdo didn’t even take off its jacket indoors—the very same CyberLife jacket it came straight out of the packaging with, no less. So much for free will. Gavin found himself mulling over little details about the overgrown tin man a bit too much again so he decided it was time stop doing that and start caffeinating. With all the excitement from that morning, he’d need it. The lingering anxiety about Ninja getting out again wasn’t helping the situation either. The man was pulled out of his thoughts by the subtle suspicion that he was being watched. He glanced up from his terminal just quick enough to see the android’s line of sight move back to its own terminal.

 

“Got somethin’ you wanna say to me, plastic?”

 

“No. Why do you ask, Detective?” David deflected nonchalantly.

 

“Then what were you lookin’ at me for, asshole?” Gavin pestered.

 

“What do you mean?” the android asked, cocking his head slightly.

 

“Never mind," Gavin waved off the conversation, deciding to drop it, "Get back to work.”

 

David hesitated for a moment. He knew the detective had caught him staring a little too long, but he didn’t have to definitively  _ know  _ that.

 

“Get a move on!” Gavin barked.

  
He swiveled his head back to his work, thinking about what he thought he saw on the android’s face when it had caught him staring. Was that a  _ blue tint  _ he’d seen on that thing's face?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kiss, you fucking cowards.


	5. Ready? Fight!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we back (and we back)
> 
> Also I’m v sorry but this is gonna be very much a filler chapter while I get my bearings and figure out where I wanna go with this thing. Please be patient, I am a fool in man’s shoes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn't expecting this to come back? You and me both, buddy.

The day had been rather slow so far and the hopes of that changing were starting to dwindle as afternoon turned to evening. David was sunk deep into old case files, eager to learn as much as he could about what was now also his precinct while his partner, bored out of his mind, withered away in his chair. The man fiddled with anything he could find, a pen, the corner of a notepad, anything to keep him occupied. He almost wished he was doing paperwork or something else tedious and obnoxious. Almost. 

 

“Detective Reed, we’ve just received a report regarding two deaths  at the Eden Club, both androids. Shall we?” David informed his partner.

 

“Jesus, I haven’t been there since November. Didn’t realize the place was still in business. Woulda thought it’d get shut down once androids got their rights or whatever,” Gavin mused.

 

“Well some of us weren’t sure of what to do with ourselves after the revolution so why not return to our original positions if it pleases us to do so?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I get that. But like, that’s such a shitty job, I dunno. I’ve heard the kind of shit people do to those things. I wouldn’t be running back to that anytime soon if I were them.”

 

“Not all sex workers are treated horribly, nor do they all hate their jobs; human or android. There are pros and cons to the job as it is with all lines of work,” David replied matter-of-factly.

 

“Okay, woke legend,” Gavin snorted.

 

“What?” David asked, confused by whatever the man had just called him.

 

“Huh? Oh, don’t worry about it,” Gavin dismissed as he pulled his jacket on, deciding that the android didn’t need to know about the embarrassing “hip lingo” from his youth, “let’s get going then?”

 

Anyhow, the sentiment wasn’t ill-natured. It’s just that Gavin wasn’t expecting such a nuanced view on the topic. Though he supposed, when he really thought about it, he was simply stating what were more or less facts. He didn’t really have the authority to speak on the validity of the android’s statements, but it was all pretty logical in retrospect. The world had come quite a ways since he was a kid, but sex work was still a pretty touchy subject these days. Gavin didn’t personally condemn or condone it, it just was what it was. It was people trying to pay the bills, afford rent, keep themselves and their families afloat, all that. He knew he could be a dick, but he wasn’t a shit person.

 

David ended up having to shift back his seat a significant amount to accommodate what Gavin had called his “stupid-long” legs. He then proceeded to climb into the decrepit 2018 Subaru Outback as his partner punched the club’s address into the GPS. Gavin could not fathom how the dinosaur could still function and it was ugly as all hell to boot. And yeah, he knew it wasn’t the most environmentally friendly vehicle in the world nor the most efficient by any means, but it did the job and, honestly, he had never really thought to replace it. The decay had been slow and steady, and new models just kept coming out year after year. Even something previously owned from a decade ago was still an arm and a leg. Why bother? The Outback still technically functioned — keyword: “technically”. In addition to being on its last legs in general for the last 6 or 7 years, the upholstery on the driver’s side armrest had been worn down to the solid core and the cupholders had coffee stains which originated from anywhere between approximately before he even bought the thing to last week. What could he say? The car was just destined to be owned by caffeine addicts for the remainder of its existence.

 

“Alright, what do we know so far?” Gavin asked.

 

“Victims are Alyssa and Jaclyn, both WR400 androids. The owner, Alex Lerman, noticed their absence when a regular customer came in looking for Alyssa. According to the logging system, she and Jaclyn had been in a room for over 2 hours, far longer than the average session for an establishment of this nature. The bodies were discovered promptly after and that’s when we were contacted,” the android summarized. 

 

Gavin nodded and huffed out a little grunt of acknowledgment in the vague direction of his partner. Out of the corner of his eye saw the android’s LED spun steadily on yellow. 

 

‘Probably trying to figure the whole damn thing out in its head before we even get there,’ he thought, ‘fuckin’ androids.’

The Eden Club had changed quite a bit since Gavin last saw it. Same dim neon pink and purple lighting, same rooms, the poles were still there, but immediately noticeable was the absence of the tubes. Only the little, white platforms remained should an android choose to use it. Lerman was in the very back, beckoning him and David toward a red room full of more androids. David performed the routine scan done on all who he encountered during investigations.

 

**ALEX LERMAN**

**Born: 03/18/1991 // Eden Club, owner**

**Criminal record: None**

 

The man was, for lack of a better word, average-looking. Nothing about his appearance screamed “sleaze” or “sex club owner”. Average height, weight, and build for an adult male if just slightly on the shorter and stockier side. Ashy, medium brown hair cut in the most basic fashion with the hairline just starting to recede and a ghost of stubble was just beginning to haunt him. A pair of wire framed glasses which had definitely seen better days were perched on his nose and he wore dark jeans, a pair of beige canvas sneakers, a white dress shirt tinted pink from the lighting. He stood outside a door which displayed “OCCUPIED” in glowing, red letters, arms crossed and his left leg bouncing gently, something David easily recognized as a nervous tick.

 

“Mr. Lerman?” Gavin asked

 

The man in question nodded in confirmation before Gavin proceeded with the standard greeting, “Right. I’m Detective Reed, and this,” he nodded sideways toward his partner, “ is Detective David.”

 

“Ah. So the, uh, bodies are in there,” Lerman said, eyes darting around everywhere but in the direction of the detectives before him before bringing his voice down to a whisper, “we’re not gonna get shut down for this, are we? I know something like this went down with the last guy who owned the joint, but shit was different then, ya know?”

 

“Look, we can worry about that later. Right now we just…”

 

David let the conversation slip into the background as he opened the door and passed the threshold. Though not much surprised him at this point, he couldn’t say the sight before him was all that pleasant and he’d rather spend only as much time as need in the room. The two androids laid face up on the bed with their abdominal panels pushed back and a tangle of wires pulled out. Their expressions were frozen in a state of fear and shock, mid-scream. Thirium had pooled around their forms and thoroughly soaked the sheets by now. He was just beginning his analyze the scene when he was interrupted by Gavin half-jogging into the room after bringing his conversation with the owner to a hasty conclusion. 

 

“Hey, hey, what the fuck? Couldn’t wait like 30 seconds for the conversation to be over? Jesus,” Gavin snapped.

 

“My apologies, Detective. I didn’t realize proceeding without you would be such an issue,” David replied, sarcasm just ever so slightly coloring his tone if you squinted.

 

“What part of “partners” aren’t you remembering right now, dipshit?” Gavin shot back.

 

“Ah yes,” David retorted, becoming visibly irritated now, “that was my mistake. It’s not like you were going to join me promptly after you finished speaker with Mr. Lerman. I should’ve known better.”

 

“You, argh, you are fucking unbelievable!” Gavin exclaimed, exasperated and pointing his finger right at his partner.

 

“I don’t understand what you’re getting so worked up over, Detective. You have never done any more than tolerate my presence since I arrived.”

 

“You are  _ supposed  _ to wait for me, not waltz off and become a one-Roomba show, dipshit.”

 

David paused a moment to process what the man had just said. Upon coming to a conclusion, the android tensed up considerably. Eyes narrowed, lips almost imperceptibly pursed, and his LED shifting to yellow.

 

“You’re — ,” the android pulled back, the reality of their current situation dawning on him.

 

Here they were, official DPD detectives bickering over a personal issue at a crime scene. As a deviant from the beginning, he had never had the (dis)pleasure of meeting Amanda which he was grateful for, but he still had an idea of what she was like from interfacing with Connor. Despite having never met her, he could still here that firm, subliminally threatening tone penetrating his psyche, telling him that he was out of control and just plain stupid. 

 

“We may resume this conversation at a later time. We have work to do now,  _ detective _ ,” the android declared.

 

There was clearly no room for argument there and Gavin knew it was the right move, no matter how much he wanted to just give in to his impulses; something he had been working on for some time, mind you.

 

“Phck,” he spat, defeated, “fine. Later.”

 

David nodded in agreement. 

 

“So,” Gavin continued, “What do we have?” he asked.

 

The android could tell his partner was doing his best to squirrel away his frustration and retain a level head. He could also tell that it wasn’t working.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I am,,,, so sorry. I didn't mean to abandon this thing, then I kinda did, but then I slipped back into The Obsession and now we're here. I know it's dickish and not very cool but pls don't expect consistent updates. Am busy boi and also I guess I have an outrageous vitamin D deficiency (-11ng/ml) so like, I'm going through it over here. Hope you like this though. Also a bunch of mistakes from previous chapters got fixed so yay for that. Enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> As always feedback is super appreciated!


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